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This tour will help you to get acquainted with Moscow – the capital of Russia. You will find out peculiar detail about the history of this ancient city, as Moscow’s origins have long been shrouded of the mystery of time; there are countless stories and myths about Moscow. You will see the unique historical, architectural and cultural landmarks: the Kremlin, the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat (which people renamed as the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed), the Bolshoy Theatre, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. You’ll feel the originality and the grandeur of Moscow – the center of political, financial, cultural and spiritual life of Russia.

The Red Square has always been the main square of Moscow. Here heralds announced the Tsar’s decrees and Sovereign’s will to the crowds who gathered. On Major Religious festivals there were religious processions from the Kremlin to the Red Square, on such days the whole square was full of people, and it resembled an open–air church. It was here that the magnificent cathedrals were built. One of them is the Intercession of the Virgin Cathedral. The cathedral was built in the mid–16th century by decree of Ivan the Terrible in honour of the victory in a wars. In 1588, a small tenth chapel was added to the church. The Holy Fool Vasily (Basil), greatly respected in Moscow, was buried here. Since then, the cathedral has been popularly known as St. Basil’s. St. Basil’s cathedral is unique among Moscow’s churches.

The Kremlin is the historical centre of the city, the heart of Moscow. This is one of the most famous museums of the world, which continues to attract visitors in great numbers. Kremlin is located on a hill washed from one side by the Moscow–river. On the Kremlin grounds you can see the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon and visit Annunciation (Blagoveschensky), Archangel (Arkhangelsky) and Assumption (Voznesensky) Cathedrals, the Bell –Tower of Ivan the Great and the Church of the Twelve Apostles – the wonderful monuments of Russian church architecture with unique richly decorated interiors.

The world–famous Armoury is one of the oldest museums in Russia, a treasure house. It is the collection of Russian, Eastern, Western art works of the V–XX centuries, the tsar’s thrones, garb and armour, the unique silver and golden dishes. The tsars and grand prince’s regalia, the coaches of different centuries, the collection of arms. You will be told remarkable stories about the life of their owners. The Armoury as a depository of tsar’s treasures was first mentioned in chronicles at the beginning of the 16th century. That was the prototype of the future museum. Nowadays the collection of the museum numbers over four thousand items.

The Diamond Fond is one of the largest collections of jewellery in the world. The pride of the collection is historical relics, such as state regalia and unique precious stones. This is a part of the royal treasures, which were previously kept in the Diamond Room of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. This collection is not only expensive, but also has a great cultural and historical value. One can see the largest imperial crown, consisting of 5 thousand diamonds, world–known Orlov and Shah diamonds, the most honourable Russian medals, and the largest in the world platinum nugget, golden nugget. The priceless treasures of the Diamond Collection are a part of the country’s national wealth. They are kept under strict control of the state.

It is one of the most famous historical places of interest in Moscow, built in the 16th century. It is the functioning convent, which belongs to The Russian Orthodox Church. The nunnery was completed by the end of the 17th century, from the time of its construction and till now the convent remains among the best architectural ensembles of Russia. This was the richest convent in Moscow. Noblewomen of the time became novitiates in this nunnery. The territory of the New Maiden nunnery is also the burial place. New Maiden Cemetery is divided into two parts “the old” and “the new”. “The old” cemetery is situated on the territory of the convent itself, and it is a burial place for: the daughter of Ivan the Terrible, sisters of Peter the First, the heroes of the patriotic war of 1812, prominent writers, philosophers, poets and so on. “The new” cemetery was laid between 1898 and 1904. It is adjoins the convent on its south side. It was extended in the Soviet period when New Maiden Convent became the second most honoured place for burials in the USSR, after the Kremlin walls. Among those who were buried on the grounds of the new cemetery was: Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov, the wife of Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev.

The State Tretiakov Gallery is the national treasury of Russian fine arts and one of the greatest museums in the world. It was formed in 1856 and named after its founder, Pavel Tretiakov, who donated his private collection to the City of Moscow in 1892. The main building of the museum is located not far from the Kremlin. The collection consists of about 125,000 works of art. Among the items are the unique examples of ancient Russian icons, including the outstanding icons painted by Andrei Rublev, Dionissus and Simon Ushakov. There are a lot of works of painters of XIII – XIX c.

The Pushkin Museum is one of the major art museums in Russia. It is located in the centre of Moscow, not far from Kremlin, opposite the Cathedral Of Christ the Saviour. The collection holds more than half a million items from different epochs. Among them there is a unique collection of plaster copies of famous works of sculpture from the Antiquity, the Middle Ages and The Renaissance. The collection of the museum contains art works of great artists from Italy, Holland, Flanders, Spain, England, France and Germany. There is a world famous collection of French paintings from the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, which contains major works by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse and Picasso from the collection of Moscow’s legendary art patrons.

Famous Moscow metro is symbol of glory of constructivism, decorated with chandeliers and tons of marble. Most of its stations have been designated as architectural landmarks. The length of the underground lines exceeds 250 kilometres, it has more than 160 metro stations, new ones are continuously added. The vestibules of the metro stations, which are among the most beautiful in the world, were built about fifty years ago; the first line was opened in 1935. Old Arbat Street is a street with activity at any time of day and night. Arbat Street is a cobbled pedestrian passage and one of the most popular meeting and shopping spots in Moscow. It is here that that artist, musicians, lovers of poetry and amateur songwriters like to get together.

Kolomenskoe is a former estate of the Moscow grand dukes and the Russian tsars, situated on the high right bank of the Moscva River. Today it is a museum–reserve, a monument of the 16th and 17th century Russian architecture. More ten twenty architectural monuments have survived at Kolomenskoe, among them is the Church of the Ascension of the 16th century, which is considered to be a “wondrous wonder”. On the grounds o the Kolomenskoye Museum – Reserve are a number of interesting samples of wooden building. One of them is Petrov House.

Sergiev Posad – the centre of Russian Orthodox Church. All the history of the Moscow formation not only as of the main administrative centre, but also the centre of Russian religious life will be shown to you during this excursion. You will visit the chapels, churches, cathedrals and monasteries of Moscow. This is a visit to the Holy–Trinity Sergeius Monastery (Lavra), founded by St. Sergeius of Radonezh (1314 – 1392) in 1340. You’ll visit the Sacristy, where the treasures of Lavra are held: the unique icons, the church clothes, book, presented by the Russian Tsars and grand princes. You’ll see the austere and elegant churches of XV–XVII c., Theological Academy. You’ll learn about the event, connected with Lavra and it’s role in the spiritual life of Russia.

Kuskovo is an outstanding 18th century palace and park ensemble, which belonged to the family of count Sheremetievs. The main building of the estate, The Kuskovo Palace, was built on the bank of a large pond. It is the dominant architectural feature of the entire ensemble of the grand courtyard, which includes a church, kitchens and a bell tower with a spire. The park’s main alley ends at the large building of the Conservatory – a winter garden with a dance hall in the canter. Also in the park there is a Grotto, which imitates an underwater cave – “Neptune’s Kingdom”. In 1918 the Kuskovo estate was given the status of a museum. And in 1932 a Museum of porcelain was opened here. It boasts an immensely rich collection of Russian, Chinese, German, English, French and Danish china and faience, majolica and glass.

Here, in the settlement of Abramtsevo near Moscow, the modest beauty of Russian nature manifests itself in an unusual manner. Abramtsevo is one of the rare museums that have preserved the appearance and charm of genuinely olden days. In its park one can find Aksakov’s old house, the Church of Christ the Saviour, and the wooden structures in the neo–Russian style — the Terem, art studio, and children’s “forest hut on birds’ legs”, created by Vasnetsov on the basis of Russian folklore.

All these buildings hold many unique objects of Russian daily life of the 18th to early 20th centuries. The exhibits include works by famous artists and also kitchen utensils, spinning wheels, dolls, and other objects created by anonymous folk craftsmen.

The Abramtsevo Memorial Estate is more than a collection of exhibits. It’s a place where artistic life continues today, where one can come in touch with the nation’s creative spirit. It’s also a place for those who would like to experience the charm of the unhurried life of the Russian country gentry in the 19th century.

The tour to the famous all over the world Russian Cosmonauts Training Centre named after Yuri Gagarin who did the first manned flight to the space. On the grounds of the Centre there is a local museum and memorial office of Yuri Gagarin. During the tour one will visit special technical zone of the Centre where there are unique simulators, the centrifuge, the hydro–lab with models of space vehicles. In a huge swimming pool (diameter 23 m, depth 19 m) there is a model of a space station. Water weightlessness enables cosmonauts to practice their skills necessary for their travelling into outer space. The astronavigation function simulating stand created at cosmic planetarium gives the possibility to study the star sky and to define orientation of manned spacecraft. The stand allows to simulate the star sky observed at altitudes of 500 km and it generates 9000 stars.

Aircraft museum's collection numbers more than 170 aircraft, there are conventional planes, helicopters and gliders, as well as unusual flying machines, such as V.Tatlin flapflyer, A.Rafaelynts turboflyer, the second stage of orbital space plane, developed under the "Spiral" program and others. The collection also includes a lot of model aircraft, air guns, missiles and rockets, bombs, fuses and ammunition, navigation instruments, pieces of radio and communication equipment, rescue equipment, flight insignia, uniform, combat banners and flags, documents, letters, personal things of pilots, as well as many art exhibits. The Museum's exposition, the total area of which is about 20 hectares (including the airfield), is located on the tarmac, in hangar and halls, shops of the former aircraft repair plant were adopted for the halls. The vast territory allows the museum to expend its exposition, while the nearby runway can receive new exhibits: many of museum airplanes and helicopters made their last landing on that runway. In the halls historical material and exhibits are arranged chronologically, in the open air planes and helicopters are mainly arranged according to the names of their design bureaus.

There are quite a few places, both in Russia and abroad, where P.I. Tchaikovsky stayed or lived, and the memory of the great composer is carefully preserved there. Nevertheless, no one of these places possesses such attractiveness for visitors as the ancient town of Klin. The house in Klin where Tchaikovsky settled in May 1892 and wherefrom seventeen months later he left for St. Petersburg for his last concert trip has been preserved, and for a century already it is known the world over as P. I. Tchaikovsky House–Museum in Klin. The Museum's collection initiated by M. I. Tchaikovsky, the composer's brother, has become one of the largest of this kind and made it possible to carry out vast scientific work on studying Tchaikovsky's life and popularising his creative work, publish his musical and literary heredity, arrange conferences and exhibitions, both in this country and abroad. P. I. Tchaikovsky House–Museum in Klin is a real Mecca of all music lovers. During the Museum's century–old history it was visited by millions of people from all spots of the world. Tchaikovsky's music, his life, the great master's house with his library, manuscripts, personal effects – all this continues to excite people, remain attractive and essential for them. During the tour the piano concert can be organized.

During the tour you will become acquainted with architecture, history and present day life of the former capital of Imperial Russia, the history of the Romanov dynasty. Among the rich parade of sights to be enjoyed will be Palace Square with the Winter Palace, the Square of Arts with the Russian Museum, the Smolny Convent, the famous Nevsky Avenue, the Summer Garden and the Field of Mars. You will enjoy the classical ensemble of the Senate Square with its famous “Bronze Horseman”, the spit of Basil island, many other architectural monuments, gorgeous palaces, marvellous bridges and picturesque embankments.

Peter and Paul Fortress is the first construction of Saint–Petersburg. By the order of Peter the Great it was built here to defend these lands from Sweden, during the war, which lasted 21 years and came down into the history as the Northern War. The first day of the fortress’s construction – 27th of May 1703 – became the Birthday of the whole city. The architect of the fortress was Domenico Trezini, the first architect of the city. For a long period of time the fortress was used as a political prison. The architectural centre of the ensemble of the Fortress is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The Cathedral is a burial place of Russian Emperors from the time of Peter I. In 1998 the remains of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family were buried in the Cathedral.

St. Isaac’s Cathedral is the largest cathedral of the city. It is also one of the biggest one–dome cathedrals in the world after St. Peter in Rome and St. Paul in London. It was designed by the French architect A. Montferrand. It took 40 years to construct it. The cathedral is decorated with mosaics, painted ceiling murals, bronze gilt statues. The cathedral is surrounded by 112 monolith granite columns, which were transported from one of the suburbs of the city. St. Isaac’s Cathedral was the main cathedral of the city from the second half of the 19th century. Now the cathedral houses the museum, but for the Major Orthodox holidays Religious services are held here.

To feel the unique spirit of St. Petersburg one have to look at it at night. Far from being a dusty museum piece St Petersburg is a thriving modern city that really knows how to enjoy itself, and there’s nowhere better to take St Petersburg’s pulse than along Nevskiy Prospect. It is busy round the clock everyday. This handsome boulevard doubles as the city’s commercial aorta. A comfortable couch will drive you around the downtown, which is extremely charming at night both in romantic twilights of the Wight Nights and electric lights in winter. Saint Petersburg is also known as the City of Bridges. There is no wonder, because the city is situated on more then 45 islands. Saint–Petersburg wins the leading position in Russia in the quantity of bridges. Of course the most amazing fact about the St.Petersburg bridges is that all the bridges across the Neva river are drawbridges. It means that at night they are lifted to let the big steamers and ships pass through the the river into Ladoga Lake. That is the picture of majestic beauty, especially during the famous period of Wight Nights from May till July, when nights are as light as daytime and there is a wonderful feeling of magic all around the city.

The Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a true artistic landmark of St Petersburg. Founded by Peter the Great's decree in 1710, the monastery became one of the first building sites in the Northern Russian capital, parallel with the Peter and Paul Fortress. Russian and foreign architects worked on creation of the ensemble of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Among those who took part in the designing and construction of its churches, towers and aisles were the outstanding architects Domenico Trezzini, Piotr Yeropkin, Mikhail Zemtsov and Ivan Starov, the sculptor F. Shubin and many other masters. The monastery was built during the eighteenth century. In the Lavra there are three cemeteries which were named after the churches erected there. These are the St Lazarus (Lazarevskoye) Cemetery, the Tikhvinskoye Cemetery and the St Nickolas (Nikolskoye) Cemetery. Suvorov, Lomonosov, Dostoyevsky, Chaykovsky are buried here.

Louvre in Paris and the National Gallery in London. Hermitage collection numbers over 3 million exhibits from prehistoric to modern times. The Russian Empress Catherine II founded it in 1764, when she bought a large number of Western European paintings. To house the collection she ordered a new building to be constructed. Now the permanent museum display occupies five buildings (The Winter Palace, The Small Hermitage, The Old Hermitage, The New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theatre), which form a brilliant architectural ensemble. The remarkable architects and sculptors of 18th – 19th centuries decorated the museum’s interiors. A number of staterooms, where official ceremonies used to be held, preserve their sumptuous décor. The Hermitage acquires authentic masterpieces by the greatest painters and sculptors of the World, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, El Greco, Claude Monet, August Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso and Matisse. The Hermitage complex is a veritable spiritual universe created in the course of times and filled with the unique gifts of creativity.

The State Russian Museum is called a treasure house of Russian art. This is the first state – owned collection of works of Russian art and culture which amount to over four thousand items. It was established in 1895 as the centre of art and history of Russia and was officially opened to the public in 1898. It is situated on one of the most beautiful squares of Saint–Petersburg – on the Square of Arts, at the Mikhailovsky (Michael’s) Palace. It was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century for the Grand Prince Michael, the son of Russian Emperor Paul I. Hence the name of the Palace. Museum contains unique collections from icon–paintings to Avant–Garde and social realism, one can enjoy the works of outstanding painters, sculptors and graphic artists of the 18th – 20th centuries and pieces of decorative, applied and folk arts.

It is one of the most sumptuous palaces in Saint–Petersburg. It’s one of the rare works of architecture whose history is closely associated with the names of the aristocracy, eminent architects, artists of the 19th and early 20th century. It belonged to the Yussupov family, the family of fabulous rich. The palace is also famed as the scene of Rasputin’s murder in December 1916.

The artistic concept of the church goes back to examples of Moscow architecture of the 16th century. The temple on the Spilled Blood was built at the end of the 19th century on the place where the Russian Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded by the members of the revolutionary movement on March 1, 1881. The temple is known all over the world due to the interior and exterior decorations. The walls of the church are faced with 7 thousand square meters of mosaic panels. The mosaics were made after the design of many prominent Russian artists. The Cathedral was badly damaged during the second world War. It was under the restoration works for a long period of time and only in 1997 it was re–opened to the public.

This is the memorial museum of the famous Russian writer F. Dostoyesky. It was opened to 150– anniversary of F. Dostoyevsky in 1971. In this building there was Dostoyevsky’s last flat. Here he wrote his famous “Karamazovs Brothers”. The interiors of the flat are restored in accordance with archive documents. The collection of the museum has unique, authentic things which belonged to Dostoyevsky himself.

It is a fascinating example of the world’s architecture and gardening. Peter the Great ordered to construct the small palace for his wife, future empress Catherine I. In the middle of the 18th century the palace was rebuilt and became the purl of that period architecture. The grandeur of the artistic decor of the facades, the moulded decorations, the gilding of architectural and sculptural details, all echoes the majesty and elegance of the interior decoration of the Catherine Palace. The Amber Room, which was presented to Peter I by the Prussian King in 1716, known as the Eighth Wonder of the World, used to be in this Palace. The amber ornamentation of this room, missing since 1945, is now reconstructed by Russian gem carvers. The park of Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar’s Village) was the favourite recreation place of the Russian Tsars. The paths around the Catherine Palace invite for a walk to see park pavilions built by the famous architects and sculptors of Russia. To the North of the Catherine Palace there is marvellous Alexander Palace which was build by the Catherine’s order for her favourite grandson Alexander, the future Russian Emperor Alexander I.

It is a superb park ensemble of the late XVIII – beginning of the XX centuries, which was, used as a summer residence of the Russian emperor Paul I and his family. The landscape park with different pavilions covers the area of 600 ha. The formation of the Pavlovsky Palace collections was closely connected with the trip of its owners around Europe. Paul I and his wife visited workshops of well–known artists, ordering and acquiring paintings, furniture, bronze articles, silk fabrics, china sets, etc. They brought to Russia large number of antique sculptures from Italy, as well as gifts from European royal courts. And now all these items are exhibited in the halls of the Palace.

It is a jewel of the Russian art, a town of parks, palaces and fountains. It was built by the order of Peter the Great to commemorate the victory of Russia over Sweden in the Northern War. The architectural ensemble of Peterhof is rivalling the summer residence of the French kings – Versailles. In the past Peterhof used to be an exquisite summer residence of the Russian tsars. The centre of the ensemble is the Grand Palace with the brilliant interiors, which were badly damaged during the time of the Second World War. The restoration works were made after the photos and descriptions of the palace of the beginning of the XX century. Three monumental cascading fountains lead from the Grand Palace to the Low Park, which is the real masterpiece in itself, 173 fountains of different kinds are on its grounds.

The first Russian manufacture, which was established in St. Petersburg by the order of Empress Elizabeth in 1744. Till the 1917 the factory was the property of the Romanov dynasty hence was the name The Imperial manufactury. The name of Lomonosov was given to the factory only in 1925. This factory is the only one in Russian which manufactures thin–walled bone china.Within the walls of the museum established in 1844 you will see wonderful displays of Lomonosov porcelain dating back to the 18th century.

A relaxing cruise by boat along the Neva River and some other waterways out of the 66 rivers and canals of “Northern Venice”(as St. Petersburg used to be called) is one of the unique ways to discover the city. The main river of the city is the Neva, which is one of the youngest rivers in Europe. The magnificent architectural ensembles, churches, cathedrals and monuments seem to exist in astonishing harmony with the watery element. All the St. Petersburg embankments are faced with granite and each has its own distinctive character.

The palace and park complex of Gatchina, a town located 45 km to the South–west of St. Petersburg, is an outstanding example of eighteenth–century landscape architecture. The palace was built in the Early Classical Style by Antonio Rinaldi between 1766 and 1781, later enlarged by Vincenzo Brenna in 1796 – 1798, and reconstructed by Roman Kuzmin between 1845 and 1860.

The calm waters of picturesque lakes, ponds, and canals enliven the landscape parks, occupying an area of 700 hectare. The arbitrarily scattered bridges, terraces, obelisks, piers, and gates made of local limestone add to the romantic beautiful of the scenery.

During Word War II, both the palace and parks of Gatchina were severely damaged. In the post–war years, many of the destroyed parks structures have been restored; the state rooms of the palace are still under restoration.

Situated on the small island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland, it is one of the chief naval bases for the Russian Baltic fleet. It was founded in 1703 by Peter I as a port and a fortress to protect the site of St. Petersburg, and it was the commercial harbor of St. Petersburg until the 1880s. The harbor is icebound for several months each year. The port lost its commercial value after the development of St. Petersburg. The visit of a French naval squadron to Kronshtadt in 1891 was followed by a Franco–Russian military agreement heralding the formation of the Triple Entente of France, England, and Russia. Mutinies of the naval garrison took place here in 1825 and 1882 and played significant part in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917. The general unrest among peasants and workers in March 1921 touched off the mutiny of the naval garrison that had been loyal to the Bolsheviks during the revolution. This was the culmination of the anti–Bolshevik unrest in the country. In World War II, Kronshtadt played a major role in the defense of St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) against the Germans.

The palace and park complex of Oranienbaum is located 39 kilometers to the South of St. Petersburg on the southern coast of the Finnish Gulf near Kronshtadt. In 1707 Peter the Great presented the grounds near the seaside to Duke Menshikov. The architects D.Fontana and G.Shedel built in 1710–1727 the Grand (Menshikov) Palace that was connected by the channel with the Finnish Gulf. Simultaneously the regular Lower Garden decorated with fountains and sculptures and the Upper Garden were laid out. From 1743 Oranienbaum became the summer residence of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch, the heir of Empress Elizabeth (future Emperor Peter III). During the ten–year period B.F. Rastrelli reconstructed the Grand Palace adding beauty to its decor. In 1756 –1762 the Petrstadt Fortress ensemble was constructed on the bank of the Karost River for Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch where a tiny palace and the Gates of Honor with the tower crowned by a spire were erected by A. Rinaldi. In 1762 Catherine II ordered to establish the suburban residence called "My Own Countryside House". For that purpose Rinaldi created the Chinese Palace and the Katalnaya Gorka Pavilion (roller coaster) with a cupola pavilion in 1762–1774.